Real-time fMRI amygdala neurofeedback training reduces depression symptoms and appears to normalize amygdala and hippocampal volumes
Beni Mulyana1,2, Masaya Misaki1, Kymberly D Young1,3, Vadim Zotev1, Jennifer Stewart1, Samuel Cheng2, and Jerzy Bodurka1,4
1Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States, 2Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, United States, 3Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA, United States, 4Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
We evaluated structural brain changes as a result of real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) left amygdala training in major depressive disorder (MDD). Unmedicated MDD patients completed an active (n=33) or control (neurofeedback from intraparietal sulcus; n=29) rtfMRI-nf training session with structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Volume decreases of the hippocampus HATA subregion and cortical nucleus of the amygdala were linked to MDD symptom decrease as a function of training. Individual differences in HATA and cortical nucleus pre-treatment volumes impacted the degree of volume change in both active and control groups and could be a moderating factor of volume normalization.
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